The Madrean Sky Islands are a cluster of more than 60 high-elevation mountains rising out of lowland valleys running from southern Arizona and New Mexico into Mexico. Home to 7,000 species, many endangered, researchers call it one of the most biodiverse areas in North America. If President Donald Trump's long-touted campaign promise of a "big, beautiful" border wall were to come to fruition the existence of some of the zone's rarest species — jaguars, ocelots, Mexican gray wolves — would be jeopardized. Researchers say they don't quite know the extent of the damage that could occur, but researchers at the Sky Island Alliance are working to find out by tracking species with motion sensor cameras along the border.

Vehicle barriers, fencing constructed to stop cars from driving through the terrain, make up 49 percent of the Arizona-Mexico border. Wildlife can generally pass through this kind of border structure because it is "permeable." Other barriers like pedestrian fencing hinder species movement.

After finding the paw print of a large cat in the sand, wildlife trackers Kelly Haven and David Lichtenhan search for more along a river bank, an area often used by wildlife as a pathway for migration, in southeastern Arizona on October 13, 2017.

Wildlife trackers David Lichtenhan and Kelly Haven joke as they check their last motion sensor camera of the day in southeastern Arizona on October 13, 2017. The group trekked along the Sky Island region of the border for nearly 10 hours to check cameras.

David Lichtenhan keys through photos captured by a motion sensor camera along the U.S.-Mexico border. He looks for photos of endangered and rare species that roam the region like ocelots, jaguars, pygmy owls and more.

Kelly Haven, a resident of Patagonia, Arizona, takes a picture of the sprawling grass fields of the Sky Island region of Arizona on October 13, 2017. The area is one of the most diverse in North America and among the ones that would be most heavily impacted if a border wall were to be built.